Jets to sign former second-round pick

This is the second move to fortify the defensive backfield that New York made on Sunday, as reports on the club’s one-year agreement with safety Chuck Clark surfaced a little over an hour before the Oliver news. 

As The Athletic’s Matt Barrow observes, New York is adding the latter intending to also use him at safety. Oliver spent time practicing at that spot toward the end of his 49ers tenure.

The 27-year-old was brought to San Francisco to man the slot corner role, but things did not go according to plan in that regard. Oliver allowed a completion percentage of 84 and a passer rating of 101 as the nearest defender in 2023. He also surrendered three touchdowns in coverage, and those factors no doubt informed San Francisco’s decision to move on.

The Jets have Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed in place as cornerback starters; rather than joining that tandem in the slot, Oliver will aim to carve out a role on the backend. 

Clark’s new deal will provide the Jets with a first-team option at one safety spot, and Oliver could compete for the other one. Jordan Whitehead — who started all 17 games in each of the past two seasons after signing with New York in 2022 — is a pending free agent.

New York entered Sunday with nearly $21M in cap space, flexibility which will be useful this week once the legal tampering period begins and free agency opens two days later. 

It will be interesting to see if Whitehead is retained given the Oliver acquisition, but the latter could serve as experienced depth if another starter is also brought in. In any case, Oliver will aim to rebuild his value in 2024 after a disappointing one-and-done tenure in the Bay Area.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.